Campus Conversation: Tom Santaniello
Posted on: August 20, 2020; Updated on: August 20, 2020
"Obviously, things look different all over campus because of COVID-19, and Housing
is no exception. The biggest difference is my job this year is an emphasis on virtual
engagement. We want to make sure that we're still connecting with residents and facilitating meaningful
relationships, but we also want to provide a safe place for that. It's about finding
creative ways to allow students to have that first-year experience while ensuring
that our communities stay safe. We’ve really been emphasizing wearing a face covering
and encouraging them to make the right decisions both in and out of the residence
hall. There's also the need for physical distancing, so whenever we’re interacting
with residents, we’re making sure we’re respecting all public health guidelines and
encouraging them to do the same so that we can all stay safe and have a great semester.
COVID-19 definitely adds a bit of anxiety to everything, so we’re also focusing on
the residents' mental health. It's just been reaching out and doing our best to help
put their mind at ease that we’re here for them and committed to keeping our community
safe both physically and mentally.
Following the events of this summer, I really wanted to find a way to help make our
community a more inclusive space. Something I had learned as an RM last year is that
a lot of first-year students had never had serious conversations surrounding diversity
or inclusion. I talked to a couple of my supervisors within Housing and reached out
to someone on my staff, Cecelia Tatro, who were great resources as I developed some
I started up a diversity, equity and inclusion initiative called “Real Talk: Social
Justice Series,” along with some other RMs in both Capstone and Columbia Hall with
guidance from the Capstone Scholars Program. This is going to be a space for peer-to-peer
interactions where we’ll be going over a book, article, documentary — really any type
of medium that we think gives students some added perspective. We’re going to be meeting
once or twice every month, with the flexibility to meet virtually if someone doesn’t
feel comfortable meeting in person. It’s really a place for people to talk about their
experiences and share their perspectives, so we can all gain deeper understandings
of other peoples’ experiences what they don’t understand. I wanted to provide a space
for students to challenge their own personal ways of thinking and encourage them to
hear diverse points of view, so they can gain that understanding. We’re in such a
divisive climate as a society, and I really just want people to have a space to share
their feelings regardless of what it is they're thinking."
- Tom Santaniello, senior broadcast journalism major
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